Why we should care: Vampires drain energy from our homes

Mar. 28, 2012

Written by

Megan McWilliams

The Green Divas Radio Show

Sometimes saving the planet really does start from home. We can make a difference in our home energy conservation without putting solar panels on our rooftops or installing windmills in the back yard. Here are some good reasons to consider paying more attention to how much electricity we not only use to help save energy, the environment and a few bucks on our electricity bills.

The environmental impact

According to The Environmental Defense Fund, 65 percent of pollution attributed to global warming comes from the generation of energy and its use. Coal is the most common fuel for generating electricity in the United States. In 2010, 45 percent of the country’s nearly 4 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity used coal as its source of energy, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Some 5 to 20 percent of our home electric bill comes from phantom or vampire electrical use, which usually comes from electronics that stay plugged in and draw electricity even when they are turned off.

Good ideas

• Turn off the lights when you don’t need them!

• Get energy efficient appliances. When you buy new appliances, be sure to buy Energy Star appliances. And you might find some government incentives as well.

• Lighting. Consider changing to LED, CFL or ESL bulbs, which are all more energy efficient.

• Shed light on those vampires and expel them! Even if you switch off most electronics, many continue to draw an electrical current. Our friend, Ed Begley Jr., suggests that we put all the electronics that we usually off when we leave home, on energy-saving smart strips so you can just flip one switch to turn off several things. Try The Bye Bye Standby starter kit or the Smart Strip.

But remember not to put essential electronics or appliances like the refrigerator on the strips that gets turned off when you leave the house.

• Understand your energy use. The U.S. Department of Energy offers this tool to calculate your household energy use. Get a home electric meter like to help monitor energy use: The Kill A Watt or The Energy Detective.

Green Diva Meg is the host of The Green Divas Radio Show, which broadcasts live every Saturday morning from WMTR 1250 AM in Northern, NJ/NY Metro area, streaming live on WMTRam.com, or catch up via podcast or blog www.TheGreenDivas.com.